China blog #2
China was so incredibly different from any other month in so many ways. Six out of nine of our first countries were spent serving in churches. The three months prior to China we were in Africa where we did door to door evangelism half the time. Then we got to China. We then had to use co-words to describe Christian lingo. We had spent the whole race saying “praise the Lord” in so many different languages and now we had to be cautious of when we could say it.
For me, this was really hard. I loved ministry in Africa. I finally felt free to share the Gospel. Door to door allowed me to be open, honest and real with people. In China I never felt this way. I felt scared. I was scared to share why I was REALLY in China, what I REALLY cared about, who I REALLY was and so forth.
We were about half way through our time in China I finally realized why I was really fearful. Before the race, I would say I shared the Gospel, I ministered to others, but it was in a safe relational space almost always. Our focus in China was to build relationships and through that, share the Gospel, like I did in America. I often felt I had an alternative motive in China, like I did in America.
This realization caused me to fear that I will return to the US and share the Gospel like I did before the race. This year has brought change and I do not want to go back to how I was. I feel alive when I am open and honest and real about who I am and what I care about. I do not want to hide anything, especially the Lord from others. He is the only Hope, the only Rock, the only Truth.
It is easy to share about Jesus far away from home, because if people reject us, it’s okay because we are only present for a month. I know ministry in the states is done differently, but why? Why do we have fancy gadgets and activities and music to draw people to Jesus It’s as if we need to draw people in, to get their attention, but I have a question.
Isn’t Jesus enough?
I have found that he is and that simply sharing about his goodness, his faithfulness, and his grace that people are interested. I love Jesus and I believe he is working in his time and his way. There is no need to fear and I choose not to live in fear.
